House approves $93 billion jobless benefits package, By Lori Montgomery, May 28, 2010, Washington Post: “The House passed a $93 billion package of jobless benefits and business tax breaks Friday after moderate Democrats fed up with deficit spending forced leaders to slice billions of additional dollars from the legislation. The House voted, 215 to 204, to approve the measure, which would extend expanded benefits for the unemployed through November, finance thousands of summer jobs and renew for one year dozens of expired tax credits and deductions for businesses and individuals. The cost of those provisions would be partially covered by higher taxes on multinational corporations and investment fund managers, leaving about $31 billion to be added to the budget deficit…”
Monthly Archives: May 2010
Eligibility for Free School Lunch Program – Philadelphia, PA
Formula could cost Phila.’s needy students free lunch, By Alfred Lubrano, May 23, 2010, Philadelphia Inquirer: “Thousands of poor Philadelphia students could face the loss of free lunch if a new method of calculating eligibility becomes federal law. Though the change could extend free lunch to students across America, it threatens a program unique to Philadelphia known as Universal Feeding, which allows more than 110,000 students in poor schools to eat free lunches without having to fill out applications. Children and their families in poor communities don’t always complete such forms, creating the potential for kids to go hungry. The suggested change could deny free lunches to as many as 51,182 students – 46 percent of the Philadelphia children who now receive those meals, said Michael Masch, chief business officer for the district…”
Food Stamp Enrollment – Oregon
More Oregonians than ever are receiving food stamps, By Michelle Cole, May 15, 2010, The Oregonian: “More than 700,000 Oregonians received food stamps last month, which means nearly one in five people in the state are relying on government help to buy their meals. The numbers — the highest in the history of the program — are well above the national average and suggest that families are still struggling financially. Oregon’s high unemployment rate and a push to make the program accessible to all who qualify are driving the record enrollment. Managers at the state Department of Human Services say they do not see any sign of a decrease. Oregon officials first noted the surge in demand for food stamps in 2008, with Bend, Medford and rural counties recording early and substantial increases. More recently, families in the Portland metro area have been seeking help in greater numbers…”
Mobile Banking – Kenya
Mobile banking closes poverty gap, By Jane Wakefield, May 28, 2010, BBC News: “Mobile banking has transformed the way people in the developing world transfer money and now it is poised to offer more sophisticated banking services which could make a real difference to people’s lives. Currently 2.7bn people living in the developing world do not have access to any sort of financial service. At the same time 1bn people throughout Africa, Latin America and Asia own a mobile phone. As a result, mobile money services are springing up all over the developing world. According to mobile industry group the GSMA there are now 65 mobile money systems operating around the globe, with a further 82 about to be launched. Most offer basic services such as money transfers, which are incredibly important for migrant workers who need to send cash back to their families. M-Pesa in Kenya is perhaps the most famous of these and it has attracted 9.4 million Kenyans in just under three years. Now it is ready to move to the next stage. M-Pesa, has recently partnered with Kenya’s Equity Bank to offer subscribers a savings account, called M-Kesho…”
Drought and Hunger – Niger, Africa
Millions face hunger in arid belt of Africa, By Jon Gambrell (AP), May 28, 2010, Modesto Bee: ” At this time of year, the Gadabeji Reserve should be refuge for the nomadic tribes who travel across a moonscape on the edge of the Sahara to graze their cattle. But the grass is meager after a drought killed off the last year’s crops. Now the cattle are too weak to stand and too skinny to sell, leaving the poor without any way to buy grain to feed their families. The threat of famine is again stalking the Sahel, a band of semiarid land stretching across Africa south of the Sahara. The U.N. World Food Program warned on Friday that some 10 million people face hunger over the next three months before the next harvest in September – if it comes…”
Income and Heart Attack Risk – Canada
Heart attacks more likely among those with lower incomes, By Eva Ferguson, May 28, 2010, Calgary Herald: “Canadians living in lower income areas need to be better educated about preventive health care, eating right and exercising, particularly in the area of cardio health, experts say, after a national report showed heart attacks are more likely among Canadians with lower socio-economic status. The Canadian Institute for Health Information released its 11th annual Health Indicators report Thursday, concluding that Canadians living in low-income neighbourhoods have higher rates of hypertension, diabetes, smoking and other cardiac risk factors. In 2008-09, almost 67,000 Canadians were hospitalized for a heart attack. After breaking down the Canadian population into five neighbourhood income levels, the report found that Canadians living in the least-affluent neighbourhoods were 37 per cent more likely to have a heart attack than those in the most affluent areas…”
Cell Phones and Access to Financial Services – India
Cellphones a tool in India’s fight against corruption, By Rick Westhead, May 24, 2010, Toronto Star: “In many remote corners of the developing world, cellphones have become a valuable tool to battle poverty. Farmers use them to get timely weather forecasts and tips about fertilizers. And when their fields are harvested, they rely on contacts in nearby markets to send SMS messages that help them decide where to take their produce for the best prices, cutting out greedy middlemen. Now, government officials in the central Indian state of Bihar hope the cellphone can tackle a new challenge: battling government corruption. In early 2009, officials with Bihar’s ministry of health told an international development agency of their concern that frontline health-care workers might bolt their jobs. Bihar has 72,000 accredited social health activists – volunteers who are paid commissions for ensuring children are born in hospitals and properly vaccinated. But the activists typically aren’t paid for months and, even then, only get a portion of their earnings because local managers demand kickbacks of as much as 40 per cent in exchange for their paycheques…”
High School Graduation Rate – Oregon
‘Not acceptable:’ Nearly one-third of Oregon high school students drop out, By Betsy Hammond, May 25, 2010, The Oregonian: “Only two of every three students in Oregon’s class of 2009 graduated from high school in four years, while more than 14,000 dropped out along the way, the state education department reported Tuesday. State Superintendent Susan Castillo said she hopes the startlingly low success rate galvanizes Oregonians to provide — and demand that schools provide — more student support. She said she plans to shine a light on districts including Hillsboro and Tigard-Tualatin that, without extra funding, use systematic approaches to get standout results. ‘As a state, this is not acceptable, absolutely not, and we have got to have a coordinated effort on this,’ she said. ‘Whether you have kids or not, this matters to you. When students are not getting the education they need, we all pay the price.’ This year represented only the second time, and the first time that will count toward school performance ratings, that Oregon measured high school graduation rates in a new, more accurate way. Under the old method, which allowed thousands of teens who didn’t earn diplomas to slip away without being counted, Oregon would have posted an 85 percent graduation rate for the class of 2009. Federal rules will require all states to use the new method for the class of 2011. Oregon is ahead in making the switch, so state-by-state comparisons can’t be made yet…”
Exhaustion of Jobless Benefits
Thousands in Mass. could lose jobless aid next week, By Robert Gavin and Matt Viser, May 27, 2010, Boston Globe: “Nearly 100,000 Massachusetts residents would lose unemployment benefits by the end of July if Congress fails to extend an emergency program that has allowed laid-off workers to collect checks for up to almost two years, according to state labor officials. The program, enacted as part of last year’s stimulus bill, is set to expire Wednesday, and with concerns about the federal deficit mounting on Capitol Hill, it is unclear when Congress will act on a $145 billion spending bill that extends emergency benefits through November. If the emergency benefits expire, state officials said, unemployed Massachusetts workers would start losing benefits at the estimated rate of 10,000 a week, starting next week…”
Economic Segregation in Public Schools
- Economic segregation rising in US public schools, By Stacy Teicher Khadaroo, May 27, 2010, Christian Science Monitor: “More than 16,000 public schools struggle in the shadows of concentrated poverty. The portion of schools where at least three-quarters of students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals – a proxy for poverty – climbed from 12 percent in 2000 to 17 percent in 2008. The federal government released a statistical portrait of these schools Thursday as part of its annual Condition of Education report. When it comes to educational opportunities and achievement, the report shows a stark contrast between students in high-poverty and low-poverty schools (those where 25 percent or less are poor)…”
- Report: Percentage of high-poverty schools has risen; students face persistent challenges, By Christine Armario (AP), May 27, 2010, Los Angeles Times: “The percentage of public schools where more than three quarters of students are eligible for free or reduced price lunch – a key indicator of poverty – has increased in the past decade, and children at these schools are less likely to attend college or be taught by teachers with advanced degrees. The findings come from a special report on high poverty schools included in the 2010 Condition of Education study, which reports on a broad range of academic indicators across K-12 and higher education. The U.S. Department of Education report released Thursday found that the percent of high poverty schools rose from 12 to 17 percent between the 1999-2000 and 2007-2008 school years, even before the current recession was fully felt. By comparison, the overall poverty rate for children increased from 17 to 18 percent, leading researchers to believe that that a higher percentage of poor kids were signing up for the meal program. In all, there were 16,122 schools considered high poverty…”
Child Care Subsidies – Texas
Texas boosts child care subsidies, By Robert T. Garrett, May 25, 2010, Dallas Morning News: “While some states curtail low-wage workers’ subsidies for child care, Texas has avoided cuts, the Texas Workforce Commission said Monday. An infusion of $215 million in federal stimulus money since July has helped the state offer more child-care assistance, while the slow economy has knocked people out of work and slackened demand for child care, said commission spokeswoman Lisa Givens. The waiting list for aid was at about 14,000 children last month, down from an average of 33,000 per month in fiscal 2008…”
Health Care Reform, States, and Medicaid Costs
Study of health-care law rebuts state protests on Medicaid costs, By Alec MacGillis, May 26, 2010, Washington Post: “The federal government will bear virtually the entire cost of expanding Medicaid under the new health-care law, according to a comprehensive new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation that directly rebuts the loud protests of governors warning about its impact on their strapped state budgets. About half of the increase in health insurance coverage under the new law is expected to come from expanding Medicaid in 2014 to a new nationwide eligibility threshold of 133 percent of the poverty level — $14,400 for a single adult or $29,300 for a family of four. A disproportionate share of the 16 million people expected to enroll in the expanded Medicaid live in states in the South and West that until now have had very stringent eligibility rules for low-income adults. Governors of many of those states have predicted fiscal calamity for their budgets, and some have cited the Medicaid expansion in the suits they have filed against the new law, saying it violates their states’ rights. But the Kaiser study released Wednesday predicts that the increase in state spending will be relatively small when weighed against the broad expansion of health coverage for their residents and the huge influx of federal dollars to cover most of the cost…”
Teen Birth Rate – Canada
Canada’s teen birth and abortion rate drops by 36.9 per cent, By Zosia Bielski, May 26, 2010, Globe and Mail: “Better access to contraception, higher quality sex education and shifting social norms have contributed to a 36.9 per cent decline in Canada’s teen birth and abortion rate between 1996 to 2006, according to a report released today by the Sex Information and Education Council of Canada. ‘This is a good news story,’ said Alexander McKay, lead author and research co-ordinator at the council. ‘It’s important to look at teen pregnancy rates because they’re a basic fundamental indicator of young women’s sexual and reproductive health. While not all teen pregnancies are a bad thing, when we see [rates] dropping, it’s a fairly clear indicator that young women are doing increasingly well in terms of controlling and protecting their reproductive health.’ The report, which appears in the current issue of The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, compares Statistics Canada figures with numbers from three other countries. The United States experienced a 25 per cent drop while England and Wales showed a more modest decline of 4.75 per cent. Sweden’s numbers, meanwhile, jumped by 19.1 per cent…”
Food Stamp Eligibility – North Carolina, Minnesota
- State raises income standards for food stamp eligibility, By K.J. Williams, May 24, 2010, Wilmington Star-News: “North Carolinians should find it easier to get government help buying food starting July 1, when less stringent income rules take effect. The expected jump in eligible applicants could also swamp workers who process those applications, area social service directors say. The state’s federally funded Food and Nutrition Services program, commonly called food stamps, is currently available to applicants whose gross income is less than 130 percent of the federal poverty level. It will change to gross income less than 200 percent of the poverty level for applications in July. The change means the gross income limit will rise from $1,127 monthly for an individual to $1,805. For a family of four, it increases from $2,297 to $3,675…”
- Food stamps to meet more need in Minnesota, By Jean Hopfensperger, May 25, 2010, Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune: “It’s a bustling morning at Woodbury Lutheran Church, as crowds of visitors head to the basement food shelf to pick up groceries — and to get screened for food stamps. The scene points to a new direction for the nonprofits that handed out 65 million pounds of donated groceries last year. After decades of asking the public to donate more and more food, leaders are convinced Minnesotans need a more permanent fix than monthly bags of groceries. Enter the food stamp program, ‘donated’ by the federal government and free to all who qualify. After lobbying by hunger relief organizations, the Legislature passed a law last week that expands the program to 70,000 more residents…”
Medical-Legal Partnerships
From rats to heaters, doctor-lawyer team fights barriers to family health care, By Lena H. Sun, May 26, 2010, Washington Post: “Thirteen-year-old Haji Conteh had all the irritating symptoms of seasonal allergies when her father took her to see a pediatrician at a D.C. clinic last summer. But when the doctor questioned Haji and her father, she began to suspect there might be a cause other than pollen for the girl’s sneezing and itchy eyes: the rats and mold in the family’s Northwest Washington apartment. The pediatrician didn’t have the time or expertise to probe more deeply. But she did refer the family to a specialist– not another doctor, but a lawyer. The family is among 1,400 referred by doctors and others at Children’s National Medical Center to the Children’s Law Center. As part of a medical-legal partnership that began in 2002, lawyers work alongside doctors at four District clinics run by the hospital. Their shared goal is to overcome legal and social challenges that threaten the care of their patients — low-income children, predominantly African American, and virtually all covered by Medicaid…”
State Budgets and Children’s Health Insurance Coverage
Budget cuts dilute children’s health coverage, By Richard Wolf, May 24, 2010, USA Today: “A federal law that President Obama signed early last year to expand health insurance to 4 million more low-income children has gotten off to a slow start because of budget problems in the states. The law makes more than $10 billion in federal aid available each year through 2013 but requires state funds as well. Faced with budget shortfalls, less than half the states have used it to expand the Children’s Health Insurance Program, studies by the Kaiser Family Foundation, National Academy for State Health Policy and Georgetown University Center for Children and Families show. About 15 states scaled back coverage by increasing waiting periods, raising premiums or making signup more complicated, Kaiser’s study found. As a result, many states will leave federal money unspent, and the increase of 4 million children may not be reached, state officials and children’s health advocates say…”
Medicaid and Managed Care – Hawaii
Hawaii’s Medicaid switch produces mixed results, By Mary Vorsino, May 24, 2010, Honolulu Advertiser: “Fifteen months after the state switched its Medicaid insurance program for more than 42,000 low-income seniors and disabled residents from a fee-for-service model to a managed care one, advocates say two firms hired to administer the program have improved services and beefed up provider networks. But some point to cases involving patients who have seen cuts in care or who have struggled to navigate the Mainland-based plans because of language barriers or other reasons as continued areas of concern. New statistics on the Quest Expanded Access program illustrate that mixed bag. The numbers show both insurance companies – ‘Ohana Health Plan and Evercare – have decreased the average processing time for claims, from a high of 22 days to about 10, and increased the number of participating specialists…”
Children on Medicaid and Regular Checkups
Millions of Medicaid kids don’t get medical exams, By Kelli Kennedy (AP), May 24, 2010, Miami Herald: “Almost three-quarters of children on Medicaid in nine states are not getting all of their legally required medical, vision and hearing examinations, including immunizations, according to a new government study. The study, conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services inspector general, estimated that 2.7 million of the 3.8 million children in those states, or 76 percent, did not receive one or more of the medical, vision or hearing screenings during 2007, the year studied. The studied states are Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, Texas, Vermont, and West Virginia. Doctors say regular checkups are especially important for low-income children who are at higher risk for chronic problems including obesity, depression and poor cognitive development…”
Extension of Jobless Benefits
Another fight over jobless benefits looms in Congress, By David Lightman and William Douglas, May 24, 2010, Miami Herald: “Congress is braced for a new, unpredictable battle this week over whether to fund more aid for jobless workers as an estimated 1.2 million people face having their benefits cut off next month unless lawmakers act. The debate, expected to begin Tuesday in the House of Representatives, will be the third time this year that these provisions have faced expired funding. In the first two instances, Congress initially balked, as some Republicans were upset that the funding wasn’t paid for with spending cuts. At one point in early April, Congress left for a 16-day spring recess without funding the benefits, leaving unemployed workers uncertain when they would get checks…”
Child Care Subsidies and Welfare to Work
Cuts to child care subsidy thwart more job seekers, By Peter S. Goodman, May 23, 2010, New York Times: “Able-bodied, outgoing and accustomed to working, Alexandria Wallace wants to earn a paycheck. But that requires someone to look after her 3-year-old daughter, and Ms. Wallace, a 22-year-old single mother, cannot afford child care. Last month, she lost her job as a hair stylist after her improvised network of baby sitters frequently failed her, forcing her to miss shifts. She qualifies for a state-run subsidized child care program. But like many other states, Arizona has slashed that program over the last year, relegating Ms. Wallace’s daughter, Alaya, to a waiting list of nearly 11,000 eligible children. Despite a substantial increase in federal support for subsidized child care, which has enabled some states to stave off cuts, others have trimmed support, and most have failed to keep pace with rising demand, according to poverty experts and federal officials. That has left swelling numbers of low-income families struggling to reconcile the demands of work and parenting, just as they confront one of the toughest job markets in decades…”